Answer that text. Finish that project. Do it all now! Sound familiar? Maybe it’s time to just start horsing around. Lost Valley Ranch offers the chance to unplug and relax with horses and hikes, fly-fishing and food. Get a massage. Add in swimming and hanging out, trapshooting and boot-scooting. Travelers plan their own itineraries at this revered, all-inclusive guest ranch with trail access to 26,000 acres of Pike National Forest near Sedalia.
Lost Valley added its “guest ranch” designation in 1960 and traditions have endured. “Oooo-aaah!” is a ranch cry that’s used as a greeting, farewell, acknowledgment and happy exclamation. Accommodations remain beyond clean and comfortable, food is made to order and the views sure are pretty. No surprise, the venue continually earns rave reviews. But the elements that elevate AAA Four Diamond Lost Valley Ranch into the must-stay stratosphere revolve around heart-felt hospitality and relationships—guests even have the same horse to bond with throughout their stay.
Two hours from Denver and a smidge less from Colorado Springs, once guests head west from I-25, they begin to disengage from work and stress. The last nine miles are pure dirt road, the ranch “driveway.” There’s a cattle guard close by the main lodge, and ranch hospitality dictates that once you pass that line of demarcation you’ve officially started your stay. Wants and needs are completely, meticulously taken care of by a high-caliber veteran staff. “We always tell everyone that whatever’s going on on the other side of that cattle guard, it stays there,” says owner Tony Warnock. “When you cross the cattle guard for however long you’re here, we are going to take care of it.”
Two hours from Denver and a smidge less from Colorado Springs, once guests head west from I-25, they begin to disengage from work and stress. The last nine miles are pure dirt road, the ranch “driveway.” There’s a cattle guard close by the main lodge, and ranch hospitality dictates that once you pass that line of demarcation you’ve officially started your stay. Wants and needs are completely, meticulously taken care of by a high-caliber veteran staff. “We always tell everyone that whatever’s going on on the other side of that cattle guard, it stays there,” says owner Tony Warnock. “When you cross the cattle guard for however long you’re here, we are going to take care of it.”
Warnock says today’s vacationers have replaced dude-ranch cowboy fantasies with a simple desire to ride off into the wilderness, relax and enjoy the scenery. Lost Valley remains a working ranch and cowboy wannabes can still help work cattle, so it follows that food and amenities reflect Western themes. But it’s also a guest resort with 300-thread count sheets and carefully chosen artwork in the cabins, courtesy of Warnock’s wife Brooke.
“Our cabins are AAA Four Diamond-standard quality, with natural materials in bathrooms and other areas, higher-end floor surfaces and seating,” says Warnock. “You walk in and go, ‘OK. It feels like a ranch, but it doesn’t feel like working for a ranch.’ We put a lot of money into our cabin experience and our beds, and in our dining area.” Hearty meal selections incorporate guest preferences within a menu made up of Colorado and Southwestern ranch-centric choices, all created with the best possible ingredients.
“We don’t have cell phone service, we don’t have phones in the cabins, we don’t have televisions in the cabins,” Warnock continues. “We have Wi-Fi in the main lodge and that is it. This is all by design, because we need people to unplug for their time here to be able to engage with our staff, with the environment, with their families—and build relationships. We have a staff that is hand-selected, the highest possible character, that are going to basically love your kids for a week in a way that will make you feel safe and comfortable.”
It’s not just for families. “Any individual who wants to step outside the pressures of their daily existence comes here,” says Warnock. “The horses are just facilitators to that. The horses and hiking and fly-fishing. And people love it. We try to stay close to who we are and what we are. We’re still a ranch. Preferably the focus is about disconnecting and relaxing and enjoying just being outside in a really pretty part of Colorado.”
Eighty percent of the guests are in the repeat-customer category. “What brings people back year after year is our hospitality, our staff—the way that they take care of people. I do believe that’s a major differentiator,” Warnock says. Guest reviews may talk about activities, easy transportation and the stellar kids’ program, but also about a subjective feeling. Some say the ranch feels like home, others say it’s a place they dream about all year. Many just say they had the best time ever.
President/CEO Warnock grew up in rural Oklahoma and went from years of running Lost Valley Ranch operations to acquiring Lost Valley Corporation in 2011. He’s at the venue on a full-time basis. “For us, having shareholders and a board of directors is really a fantastic model because it gives us accountability, it gives us structure, and it gives us (more) expertise,” he says. During the school year, Warnock, his wife and their five children divide their time between a house on the ranch and another in Colorado Springs, allowing the kids to be home-schooled and also participate in sports and dance activities. But every summer the entire clan is at Lost Valley full time, along with the ranch management team, who lives onsite as well.
The ranch accepts guests from March 1 through the Thanksgiving weekend. “For nine months we run this thing wide open and it takes close three months to put everything back together to give the staff, horses and facilities time to recuperate,” says Warnock. Holidays are a big deal, including a Fourth of July parade with kids and decorated horses and tractors. “It’s the goofiest, hokiest, silliest thing you’ve ever seen, and people just flat love it,” he says. Easter sells out quickly and Warnock says the Thanksgiving meal is a “huge blowout to end the season,” sold out from one to two years in advance.
Reservations are booked by phone only, with multiple conversations between travelers and staff. “It’s not a transaction, it’s a relational experience,” Warnock says. “It sets everyone up for success. We’d hate for guests to show up and not meet their expectations.”
Do guests need cowboy boots? “Cowboy boots or not, just be comfortable for riding,” says Warnock. “We’re a casual place. Whatever you bring, don’t worry about fitting an image or what everyone else is wearing. Just be yourself, and whatever that looks like is just fine.”
Lisa Perry has written about Colorado attractions and events for 25 years. She grew up in Oklahoma, graduated from Oklahoma State University—and was jazzed to learn that Tony Warnock is both a native Oklahoman and OSU grad as well.
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